A/N: More action ahead.
And a bit of multiversal madness.
…
[Cha no Kuni]
The alleyway reeked of a recent battle—a few hours at least, given how fresh the damage to the area was, bristling with toxic Senbon needles on many surfaces. Gashes were carved the walls and the floor, some of them were deep, almost glassed as if by an extremely hot sword blade; others were made by a smaller, solid blade, though those penetration holes were much too large to belong to arrows, much closer to a dagger. However, the vast number of slashes he'd found suggested a spear or a lance to Naruto…to which Idate had confirmed. A look at the damage scattered throughout the alleyway implied a lopsided battle in favor of the lancer.
According to Morino Idate's account, he'd been hired to race on behalf of the Wasabi Clan that he had aligned with. He'd been preparing for the race by purchasing the emergency essentials he'd need to run the race when he'd run into Aoi in the alleyway…the boy's instincts kicked in…Aoi may have been arrogant, but he was still a shinobi, there was no way he was there by accident. Idate had suspected that Aoi's presence in the alley had something to do with the race he was to run, as the Wasabi Clan had long been feuding with their rivals, the Wagarashi clan, over Degarashi Port. After confronting Aoi about the past, the arrogant swordsman attacked Idate using the Nidaime Hokage's Raijin no Ken - the blade that Idate had been tricked into stealing for Aoi, and that was the source of his troubles. It was at that point that the angel had intervened, trivializing Aoi by evading his attacks and only fighting back by slapping him…hard. It wasn't until Aoi unfurled his Senbon-launcher umbrella that the angel, by reflex, broke her disguise as a hunchback, her gold-dusted wings bursting free from her back as she created a barrier of light that incinerated many of the toxic Senbon needles.
The angel then summoned her spear, and proceeded to further humiliate the former Konoha Shinobi. Even though she'd been holding back, and even though he'd been using a legendary blade, the traitor had quickly gone from simply 'losing' to being 'utterly dominated' by his opponent. Fortunately for Aoi, he decided to turn tail and run—had he pressed on, the angel would have most certainly have impaled him on her spear.
After he'd given Team Yamato his account of what had occurred, Idate left to train for the race, leaving them alone with the crime scene. It brought a smile to Naruto's face, though he had to choke his laughter down as he imagined an arrogant bladesman like this Rokushō Aoi that was described, with his face red with rage, welts, and humiliation.
"Something funny?" Hyōhime asked in exasperation.
"Just thinking about the kind of hell that Aoi guy got himself into," Naruto replied, picking up a metal pipe that was usable as a quarterstaff, "I mean, she's very good. According to Idate, she was good enough to literally slap him around like a ragdoll before she pulled out her spear and fought more seriously. Nothing more funny than an arrogant so-and-so like Aoi getting himself way in over his head."
"And you would know this because…?"
"I've studied this subject," Naruto replied, reading the battle damage while twirling the pipe to test its balance, "Simply put, I can read the aftermath of a battle pretty well—through this, I can tell you for a fact that this is actually pretty solid footwork. Given their capabilities, I would not at all be surprised if an angel were to beat down Aoi with very little trouble. Mind giving me some space?"
Haku nodded in assent, gently nudging Hyōhime back. Naruto extended the pipe, tracing lines over where the spear would have cut gouges in the floors and walls in an attempt to reenact the lancer's movements using his knowledge of polearm combat. As he followed the gouges left behind, tracing the lancer's flow through every sweep and thrust of the spear, that feeling of deja vu washed over him with every move he traced…there was no doubt - he'd seen these moves before.
"Talk to me, Naruto," said Yamato, breaking Naruto out of his rhythm, "What are those lines telling you about the angel?"
"That I might know her," Naruto breathed, lost in his battle-trance as he continued tracing the angel's movements with his staff, "Yeah, I'm sure of it: these are certainly her moves. But from what I understand, she taught a lot of people…I would know, I picked up a few polearm techniques from her myself. What's really making it harder to tell is that I don't see any signs of her signature attack—without any indication that this fight was definitely her work, this could just as easily be one of her other students. Understandable: judging by how clean and crisp these moves are, nobody in their right mind at that level would waste their signature move on an insignificant little ant like Aoi anyway."
"And if it happens that you do know her?" asked Haku.
As Naruto settled back against his pipe, he heaved a relaxing sigh to calm himself. "We're never gonna know for sure until we find her. But let's put it into perspective: there's no question that even a younger angel warrior would've totally wrecked Aoi - she might not be as efficient now because she's young, but the deck is still stacked in her favor. To outright trivialize Aoi like this would be the work of a far older, far more experienced angel.
"If it is who I think, then this mission has gotten easier…and yet harder at the same time. She's mellowed out and more compassionate over the years since she's become a bard, but she's still a warrior with a strong sense of justice - she's just wiser and picks her fights more carefully these days. An angel as old as she is, coupled with the power and experience to back it up? I estimate that we're gonna be walking into one hell of a fight if we piss her off…so once we find her, I'd recommend keeping it civil."
"And how old is she?" asked Yamato.
Naruto chuckled. "Dunno, I just know that she's old. And I'm wise enough to not ask a lady her age, though I get the feeling she's at least two hundred years old."
"Well, if she is the angel you know, then where do you think she'll be found?" Haku asked.
"She's always enjoyed music, really soothes her y'know?" Naruto added, rubbing his chin in thought, "My guess: she's probably already vanished to the next village over, and that's after fixing her disguise…she's very likely gonna be hanging around music stores or street musicians that play something relaxing to calm herself. But on the off chance that she hasn't left yet, then I do know she's always found nature calming in her time as a bard."
…
[Akatsuki base]
The echoes of droplets filled the air of the cavern as the Akatsuki members had their meeting. For the sake of security, every member was to find a safe place, preferably in the wilderness, to conduct this meeting using chakra-powered holograms.
Kakuzu and Hidan had already given their mission report, speaking of the failure they'd encountered. By all accounts, the mission had gone pretty well—Nii Yugito, the Nibi no Nekomata's Jinchūriki, was caught alone in ruins, Hidan had been engaging in his normal tactic of goading his target into attacking him after his ritual. The problem, however, was that Hidan was enjoying the pain he'd been inflicting on the Jinchūriki so much that he'd been too distracted to fight back against an intruder that meddled in the fight. It wasn't long until they learned that the interloper was none other than the so-called "White Lion of Konoha," the white-furred Lion-man who aided in the defense of Konoha during the Oto-Suna Invasion.
The White Lion had proven to be more capable than they'd realized, formulating a plan to call forth the Kumogakure Shinobi as quickly as possible. And even before Nii managed to summon forth all the chakra she could muster to unleash her Bijū for the express purpose of calling for help, the Lion had proven to be quite formidable. He'd displayed the moves of a highly experienced fighter, his blows throwing Hidan off-balance with every impact as the two of them fought.
When the Nibi Jinchūriki had fulfilled her end of the plan, Hidan and Kakuzu left the area. They would deal with Nii another time, when she didn't have any distractions to come to her rescue.
"And where is the White Lion now?" asked Pain.
"Hell if I know," Hidan bit out, still furious, "But I guarantee you - the next time I see that damn fleabag, I'm taking his head."
"My sleeper agents will keep all eyes open," Sasori offered, his voice a low rumble, "That thing can't hide forever, and we're not going to let him catch us by surprise again."
"Onto other matters," replied Pain."What do we know about this creature with the golden feathers?"
"Nothing except rumors," replied Sasori, "All I've heard about it from my contacts is that it's gone missing, and that everywhere those feathers appear, it usually coincides with the appearance of some nobody hunchback just passing through. It's not much to go on, but at least we have established a pattern…and last I've heard, that hunchback was seen in Cha no Kuni."
"What news of our sleeper agent in Takigakure?" asked Pain.
"We've lost contact with him in the Takigakure wilderness," admitted Sasori, "It seems that his last pigeon message reported that the Nanabi Jinchūriki disappeared into a portal in a clearing. He stated that he was going to pursue her into the portal, and I haven't heard back from him since. However, The Nanabi Jinchūriki was seen later on exiting the portal, but our agent did not - I highly suspect he's been eliminated on the other side."
"Then we shall proceed under the assumption that he was killed on an expedition through that portal," replied Pain, "It seems clear to me that sending mere spies into these portals is a fool's errand. We're going to have to send in someone to investigate…to see what is on the other side of that portal. Do we have any volunteers?"
"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific as to which one, Pain-sama," uttered the discordant voice of Zetsu, "We've been scouring the world, and discovered even more of these portals opening around the world. As of yet, we have so far confirmed the existence of one in the wildlands of Hi no Kuni, and one near its borders with Kaze no Kuni…and just recently, we've been made aware of one that opened in the wildlands near Kumogakure."
"You're kidding." Kisame's tone was incredulous, a sentiment shared by the gathering.
"I wish I were," replied Zetsu, "We have no idea how many more will open in this world, where they'll go, and how many of them will be stable, but there is no mistaking that there will be more. Either way, the game has changed…with the opening of these portals in our world, anything we hoped to achieve now will need severe adjustments."
"This changes nothing," Pain corrected, "Our plans for this world are our main priority. That said, we will still need to exercise caution regarding these portals, to keep our operations localized to this world. If we allow our operations to spill over into those worlds, then we will very likely encounter more distractions than we can afford. For this reason, if any more of these portals are spotted, and a Jinchūriki is seen in the vicinity of one, you will capture them before they have a chance to go through. And if they have already gone through one, then there's no other option but to await their return…wait however long it takes, but upon their arrival, capture them before they have a chance to flee back through the portal. Dismissed."
Pain mentally disconnected his own feed to the meeting place, and he was brought back to reality. His body confined to his life support system, bristling with chakra transceivers as his Paths of Pain stood on standby. This was the reality imposed upon him by Konoha - the rotten tree that took everything from him.
"Zetsu is right, you know," said Konan sitting up before him, "The game has indeed changed, Nagato. We have no idea what this means…or how the people on the other side of these portals will interact with our world. All we know thus far is that now the Jinchūriki have more places to run to if the situation calls…and once they disappear into those portals, there's no telling where they'll go to escape us. Add to this, if we cause trouble on the other end of those portals, we could very easily start a war that will engulf the entirety of the Shinobi Nations."
"Irrelevant, Konan," Nagato replied, "We'll deal with those other worlds another time. Once we have dealt with this world, we will be free to decide what to do with the worlds on the other side of those portals. All will know true pain, even those weaklings from beyond the veil will burn before my might…for I am a true god."
…
[Somewhere in Cha no Kuni]
She watched from overhead as preparations for the race were underway. The trail was marked by scouts, who would determine the path that the runners were to take - from what she understood, this was a race between the Wasabi and Wagarashi clans. Each clan was to hire a runner to race on their behalf, and the winner of the race would get the rights to operate the largest port in the island - Idate ran for the Wasabi Clan, and a different runner was hired to represent the Wagashi clan.
Interesting.
She'd known of duels of honor between champions that decided fates, having fought in her fair share in her earlier years. She'd even remembered aerial races she'd undertaken with her sisters in the Boros Legion for the sake of training. To stake one's future on one race seemed the sort of event that'd be overseen by those entertainment-starved Rakdos cultists. Still, she was fascinated by the idea; she'd heard a rumor of an interplanar race being arranged between Kaladesh and Amonkhet to foster relations between the two planes. It was as though the multiverse itself had developed a taste for speed.
To be frank, she much preferred the exhilaration of personally participating in the race. She missed it all during her time among the Legion: the rush, the wind in her face, the burning in her wings as she pushed herself to the limit, the thrumming of victory in her heart. Though this was an opportunity to see what the Rakdos cultists saw in such spectacles.
She used a combination of Green and White mana to cast a cantrip upon her eyes. With her enhanced vision, she scanned the entirety of the race track around her, allowing her to see everything that was going on. She watched as the scouts reported back to a foreman the safest, yet most challenging path for both of the champions to follow…said information was then run to the cartographer, who would go on to
On one side of the island, the boy Idate had finished making his final preparations as the Wasabi Clan's hired champion, before getting in some last-minute training. The way he dedicated himself to his training spoke of a boy looking to prove himself to someone…such diligence and determination was likely the reason she was drawn to him.
On the other, she watched as some dirty dealings were going on. While the Wagarashi champion was making his own preparations, she could not help but notice the Aoi walking past the runner towards some shady individuals watching over their investment. She could not hear what was said between the men and Aoi behind the Wagarashi runner's back, but it was clear to her that a conspiracy was afoot. Given how he'd attacked Idate, as well as the very timing of it all, she had a feeling that Aoi was hired to assassinate the boy, and allow his clients to take over the port. On top of that, she noticed that an inordinate amount of personnel were brought along to deal with her - nearly a small army…none of them high quality warriors, but quite formidable if given proper direction and discipline. In a way, she'd almost cursed herself for not killing the arrogant fool when she had a chance.
"At first, I didn't think it was you…but seeing you here and now, confirms it." said a voice from below, snapping her out of her focus.
She knew that voice, heard it command oh so many raids and skirmishes against the Phyrexian menace. She looked down, and lo and behold, it was a very familiar face she knew all too well looking back up at her. The angel lowered herself off the branch she was sitting on, her wings beating to slow her descent until she landed on the ground on both feet before walking towards him.
To be sure, he was not associated with the Boros Legion, but he dressed much like a Boros war-mage; his Lorehold College uniform consisting of a white robe with red trim, hardened leather armor coated in red lacquer, though she knew that he also had an affinity for Green mana. The only difference to his attire was the addition of a bandana with a steel plate bolted onto it flying a leaf crest with a spiral within. He had a shock of sun-kissed hair, and cerulean pools for eyes that shimmered with brilliance, and the whisker marks on his face giving him a vulpine appearance. The form underneath his trappings were battle-hardened from the combination of a strict, but fair martial arts teacher and through the fires of many engagements…a contradiction to the human teenager's body it belonged to. Then again, according to what she'd heard, time did not flow the same way for Planeswalkers as it did the natives of the other planes.
Her sensory abilities allowed her to pick up the presence of three other individuals in the area.
"If it isn't the raid captain of the Shadow Foxes," she said with a sincere grin, "I haven't seen you since the war, Naruto."
"It's been a while, Eliana."
Eliana wasted no time in pulling Naruto into a hug. "It's so good to see you again."
"Likewise," Naruto answered, looking back up at her. "Though I've been busy trying to find my way home after the war."
"And did you?" asked Eliana.
"Yeah. As a matter of fact, you're exploring it now."
Eliana nodded in understanding. So this Plane was Naruto's homeworld. "I see. So I haven't stumbled into an undiscovered Plane, then."
"In a way, it still is," Naruto replied, "This Plane's kinda landlocked from the rest of the multiverse…though if you're here, I have a feeling it's not gonna be landlocked for long."
"Indeed," she replied, breaking up the hug to regard the rest of the people that had accompanied Naruto, "The rest of you can come on out. I know you're here."
Out from the bushes came three other individuals. One was a girl with scraggly brown hair that looked more like a wildcat than a human - she wore a green halter-top under a brown, fur-lined vest, and a pair of beige shorts. Slung across her back was a quiver of arrows on one side, and a laminate bow on the other; holstered at her side was a machete, likely intended for use as a tool and for close encounters. Were it not for the fact that the people of this plane were predominantly human, she would've mistaken her for an elf that lived in the Green mana-infused lands of Ravnica - particularly among the Golgari Swarm.
Another girl wore a green jacket with cream-colored trim over a gray striped turtleneck and a pair of darker charcoal gray pants. Her long, ebon hair as dark as her eyes was restrained behind her head in a bunch, contained in a bun cap. She had ivory skin pulled taut on a body meant for speed, with hands built for both healing and harm in equal measure. A killer with the face of a porcelain doll who might have fit well amongst House Dimir or the Orzhov Syndicate.
The third person to appear from the bushes was an older man edging into his thirties. He wore a steel mask with a t-shaped visor, that restrained brown hair and darker brown eyes. While clearly unarmed, he was far from defenseless, clad in a strange green vest with pouches containing a variety of tools. Under his vest, he wore an indigo suit and grey trousers, which conformed to the body of a soldier. Something about him told Eliana that the man would have been right at home among the Simic Combine…though she had a feeling that he could have had a place amongst the Selesnya Conclave.
All three of these newcomers wore the same leaf-spiral crest as Naruto. The girls each wore the same bandana: the wildcat on her bicep, the assassin on her forehead. But the man who was clearly their leader, wore it dead-center on the forehead of his mask.
"Team, I'd like you all to meet Eliana," Naruto introduced, "Eliana, this is my team." He then gestured to the wildcat. "This is Hyōhime." He then gestured towards the assassin. "Haku." He then stopped at the evident leader of the team. "Yamato."
"A pleasure," Eliana replied, offering a respectful bow before noticing the tense atmosphere. "Don't worry, I won't bite unless you make me." She then turned her attention back to Naruto. "I suppose you're not here to simply greet me."
"We have orders from the Hokage to bring you in alive to see her." Yamato replied, crisply but professionally.
Eliana sighed in disappointment, her wings sulking despondently with her shoulders. "So that's it then: the end of my tour."
"Honestly, I'd much rather have seen you under different circumstances," Naruto said apologetically.
Before she could say a word, a thought had wormed its way into her mind. Eliana had unfinished business to attend to on this island - perhaps there was a scenario where everyone won. "Had it been anyone else but Naruto that came to me first, I would have simply left of my own accord - though it seems that your leader wishes to speak with me before I do. But since you sent Naruto to speak with me first, I will comply and accompany you peacefully to see this 'Hokage' you speak of…however, I won't be doing this for free."
"What makes you think a trespasser is entitled to make any demands?" asked Yamato, skeptically.
"I may be a trespasser, but I've not laid a hand on anyone unjustly," she replied curtly, the resolve in her eyes burning as she looked back at Yamato, who flinched at the sudden edge her voice had taken. After taking a moment to calm herself, before softening her tone. "In any case, my demand is a simple one: no money, just a favor. Consider this a condition of my cooperation: do this, and I'll comply without a fuss - in addition, doing this could be worth your time."
Yamato sighed. "What's the request?"
"I've taken a liking towards this boy, Idate," Eliana began, "His determination and his diligence have endeared him to me. But it seems that the Wagarashi Clan is intent on winning this race by any means necessary - even hiring that scum Aoi to assassinate the boy."
"So you want us to kill Aoi?" Yamato surmised.
Eliana huffed in amusement. "As much as I detest him and his appalling swordsmanship, that won't solve the problem - if you kill Aoi now, I suspect the Wagarashi Clan will have other assassins waiting to kill Idate. What I really want is for Idate to have a fair chance at winning this race."
Yamato eyed her suspiciously. "I now know what you want, but you mentioned that doing this will be worth our time—it wouldn't have anything to do with Nidaime Hokage's blade, now would it?"
The smile on Eliana's face said it all before a word left her lips. "A little extra endeavor that, if successful, shall award an instant merit for your team. Since your leader is known as the Hokage, I imagine it belongs to your village - thus you have a chance to retrieve a stolen artifact and to punish the thief."
"What's your angle?" Hyōhime asked.
"I was involved in Idate's situation the second I aided him, thus I have an obligation to see this through to the end before I leave," Eliana replied, "What I have proposed is a win-win for all concerned: I get to set my mind at ease now that my unfinished business is taken care of; your team completes its mission parameters while earning an extra merit for the retrieval of a legendary blade; and Idate has a fair chance at victory. After that, we'll let the chips lie where they fall - if Idate loses, then it wasn't meant to be, but at least he'll have had a fair chance at victory. So, Commander Yamato, do we have a deal?"
Yamato leaned towards Naruto. "You clearly know her, Naruto; can we trust that she'll uphold her end of the bargain?"
"She's a Ravnican angel, they don't make promises they can't back up, so I don't think we have to worry about any funny business from her," Naruto replied, "Now I'm more than willing to take her up on her deal - we're here anyway, might as well take a chance to score ourselves a bonus objective. The only question is if the rest of the team is willing to take that opportunity."
"He's right, this is a target that's too juicy to pass up," Hyōhime replied, "I say we deal."
"Since Naruto clearly wants to do this, I will follow him." Haku added.
Yamato was impressed by the resolve his team had shown before turning his attention back to Eliana. "Very well. We'll take you up on your condition—with a stipulation: Naruto may know you, but I don't. While we're undertaking your little detour, I'll have to cage you in the meantime, to make sure you don't leave us in a lurch."
Eliana was able to read the shock in Naruto's face, and she was quick to respond before he could get a word out. "I have nothing to lose. Do with me as you wish."
Yamato was quick to act, his hands flying through a series of somatic commands, before clasping his hands together. Six wooden pillars burst from the ground around Eliana, who remained unperturbed by the experience as they converged upon a point directly above her, shortly before heavy wooden beams extruded from the pillars to form a grill. For extra security, sharp points extruded from inside the cage, forming and hardening into razor-sharp spikes pointing towards her. If she tried to run, the spikes would cut into her wings.
"A bird in a cage - fitting." Eliana said nonchalantly, before sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking back at Naruto with a knowing expression. "I appreciate your desire to stand up for me, Naruto, but it is what it is. Your commander wouldn't have agreed to my request otherwise, and I understand his suspicion more than you think; and if being caged is what it will take for his help, then so be it. All I ask is that if you happen to encounter Aoi, you will make him see just how unworthy he is of the legendary blade he wields."
Seeing and understanding that there was no negotiating with her, resolve filled Naruto's face. His tone was much like it was during the war - determined and strong. "I'll win your freedom."
…
[Kumogakure]
Yugito walked out the Raikage Tower, heaving a sigh of relief.
She'd just come out of a debriefing with the Raikage, telling him of her encounter with the two Akatsuki members that attacked her. She'd also spoken of her encounter with Ajani Goldmane, the "White Lion of Konoha" and his plan to call for reinforcements in hopes of driving away Hidan and Kakuzu…and how his bluff worked. She also spoke of how he healed her, leaving before the reinforcements she'd called for had arrived.
A was a musclehead at the end of the day, but he was still a brilliant musclehead…which was why he became the Raikage.
"Hey-yo! Whatcha doin' Yugi-to!" barked a voice down the street, interrupting Yugito's train of thought.
She sighed and braced herself to regard the speaker: a husky mountain of a man, his deep tan contrasted with a crop of creamy blond hair that had been parted multiple ways to form stripes in his scalp, his goatee the same color. He wore a hitai-ate on his forehead that flew the Kumogakure crest on it, and much of his upper body strength was revealed by the stark white flak vest he wore like a tank top with a single strap. In addition, he wore a long, white scarf around his neck, a pair of oval sunglasses, and a red strand of rope around his waist like a sash. He wore a pair of dark gray pants, ballooning around his calves by a pair of suneate protecting his knees and shins, as well as a pair of kote with rings on the back of the hand, all protected with metal splints covered in red lacquer. Tattooed on his right shoulder was the the "鉄" kanji, and the left side of his face under his eye was a pair of thick stripes that traceed the contours of his eye socket, all done in dark-blue ink.
Aside from the power that his form exuded, the man carried a set of seven short swords holstered on his back - for anyone else, this would've been impractical, but Yugito knew full well how dangerous his swordplay was. She also knew that he was like her—a Jinchūriki: where Nii Yugito was the container of Matatabi, Killer B was the jailor of the Hachibi no Ushi-oni.
Yugito huffed in exasperation. As much as she respected Killer B and saw him as a friend for their shared burden, she was in no mood to deal with his abysmal rap skills. "Not having a good day, B."
"I heard, yo! Damn Akatsuki bitches really had you on the back foot! Really close to getting your goose cooked, really worried 'bout y'all!" B replied in concern.
"Yeah, but if it weren't for the White Lion of Konoha, I'd have been toast." Yugito admitted gratefully.
"Heard the big kitty-cat gave out one hella beatdown! Those Akatsuki bitches ran all the way to brown-town!" B boomed, admiration in his tone.
Yugito had been about to lose patience with Killer B's horrid rap skills when she noticed something she'd missed upon seeing something had accompanied B. It was a small machine, about the size and shape of a chicken egg - its four wings beating rapidly as it hovered next to Killer B like a big, fat bumblebee. Its curved body, which ended in a forward-facing stinger, its body consisted of an embossed, filigree brass casing on a curved, maroon backdrop. Its 'face' was a cage with a sort of barbed needle pointing forward—behind the cage, it had three gears that twisted and turned as the glowing light of its telescoping 'eye' extended and retracted as it appeared to study her. Something about this thing unsettled her, and yet she fought to suppress a girlish 'squee' at how adorable the mechanical bug looked.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Dunno, yo," B replied, "Went for a stroll, then I found this portal. Walked through it, and I was like 'Dayum! So much bling here!' and all. Walked around, had a look, everything looked fancy as hell…wouldn't ya know it, I was stayin' for more than a spell! So many things to see, I ain't gonna lie…I did, thunder strikes and I'm gonna die. Place I went to was called 'Gear-a-poor', a big-ass city in this land called 'Kaladesh'…a name on my tongue that never sounded so fresh. More fancy stuff than we got over there, covered in so much gold and brass, really so much bling I was on my ass. Next thing I knew, I ran into this little buddy here…" he indicated the bumblebee-thing, "He kept followin' me back home like a stray. Now I gotta talk about this to A."
It wasn't a surprise that Killer B would speak to A. The Raikage was probably the closest thing that B had to family…he would of course have to tell his brother in arms about this little device.
Yugito made her way back to her apartment. Between her rescue at the hands of Ajani Goldmane, this little device that accompanied B, and this locale he walked into, this city of "Gear-a-poor" in the land of Kaladesh, it formulated questions in Yugito's mind. She wondered what this meant for Kumogakure, with all this happening.
She would have to ask the Raikage about mounting an expedition into this portal…though that would have to be brought before the Daimyo, who would most likely not approve of any such expeditions.
Still, she wanted to see for herself what it was that had fascinated B so much…this land of Kaladesh.
…
[Cha no Kuni]
Yamato looked on at the caged angel, his thoughts racing over what the implications were of her appearance.
In all honesty, she was quite a magnificent specimen. A mane of red hair trailed behind her head, contrasting against creamy ivory skin pulled taut on a feminine body that was built for battle on the ground as in the air. Her proportions slightly favored her upper body, which was not surprising considering the size of her gold-dusted white wings, though there was still plenty of real estate given to her legs. She would've been quite striking whether she was in finest of liveries, the most tattered of rags, or even proper battle regalia. Her smooth, avian facial features, however, were quite striking, though Yamato had learned long ago that such beauty often hid away great dangers. And given what Naruto had said about how powerful an angel was, it was to be understood.
Her trappings, however, were not what one would expect of someone who had fought a war. Underneath her disguise as a hunchback, she wore the clothes of something more akin to a songstress, though she was still dressed modestly in robes of white and green.
Without preamble, conjuring forth green and white motes of light into her hands before clasping her hands together. Yamato flinched as her eyes glowed with power, until he calmed himself; this was the so-called 'cantrip' that was used to observe things from far away - that she said she'd use periodically to keep an eye on Aoi's movements. To think, it was possible to use simple Jutsu without using a single hand seal, and wasn't due to advanced chakra manipulation.
"They're on the move now," she said, focused on the situation at hand, "Aoi and his brigands are headed northwest toward the bridge."
That was the time to act; according to Eliana, Aoi had a small army of forty backing him up this time - in all likelihood to deal with her. Undisciplined thugs to be sure, but all it'd take to truly make a danger out of them was either a brilliant leader or one tiny slip-up…and given her low assessment of Aoi's swordplay, it would probably the latter. For that reason Team Yamato was to trail Idate along the course; the second Aoi reared his head, they were to intercept him and prevent him and his thug army from interfering with the race.
While the Genin were the ones actually undertaking the mission, Yamato was set as backup should anything go wrong.
Yamato touched the PTT button on his throat mic, relaying his orders to the entire team. "Team, the enemy is on the move, heading northwest towards the bridge - go now."
Within seconds, Naruto's voice issued forth from the throat mic. "Roger that, moving out to intercept."
"He'll come through," Eliana assured, "I know he will."
"And how do you know this?" Yamato asked.
"I've fought alongside him longer than you have had him under command," she replied, "Believe me when I tell you that Uzumaki Naruto is capable."
…
Team Yamato sped through the treetops towards the bridge as soon they received the order to move.
The timing was such that the three of them were to flank Aoi's thug squad midway, allowing the chaos of the fight to level the playing field for them. A skirmishing tactic the Shadow Foxes used during the counterattack against New Phyrexia, preventing Phyrexian reinforcements from attacking beleaguered resistance forces. Once the Phyrexian reinforcements were dealt with, the Shadow Foxes would then reinforce the resistance forces, turning a losing battle around in favor of the coalition.
The problem was that it required knowledge of the enemy's movements and speed to hit the enemy at full force to cause maximum chaos. The timing also had to be perfect so that the enemy they were flanking didn't see them coming, and they would have to split up in order to mow them down more efficiently.
With Eliana's intel, they were given the where and when - their only hope was that they arrived just in time to cause a major disruption.
"We're getting close, Naruto." Hyōhime announced.
"Open up with a volley of arrows," Naruto began, "After that, you can join me and Haku in mopping them up."
"Roger that." Hyōhime replied, staying behind on a high branch to nock the first arrow in her bow.
By Naruto's count, Hyōhime's quiver carried twenty arrows, but it was very likely she had a number of kyūjutsu techniques to make the most out of them. He didn't count on any of the arrows making their mark, he just needed her to slow down Aoi's column if not pin them down.
Above him, Naruto watched as an arrow sailed overhead, before it split into hundreds that rained upon the ground ahead of them. It wasn't long until howls of pain were heard in the distance - the clarity of the screaming was such that it was enough for Naruto to know that they were near. He and Haku split up, taking advantage of the element of surprise to ambush the column of thugs.
After breaking through the tree line, Naruto saw that much of the forest was bristling with arrows lodged into many surfaces, taking a number of thugs out of commission…however, there was still a large number of them to contend with. The close quarters nature of the fight meant that the sword-spear that Naruto would normally have chosen was impractical - hence his decision to wield his war sword into battle, runes pulsating with power as his fingers wrapped around the grip. His mind went back to a lesson by Professor Cao.
"Many warrior-philosophers have contemplated the secret of the storm; the most enlightened of them have found their own truth, and all interpretations valid in their own right.
"So when I tell you that the secret of the storm is as simple as dancing, allow me to illustrate my point of view: in dance, as it is in battle, rhythm and flow are key to disrupt your opponent's flow while maintaining your own, and making the most efficient use out of every breath you take. To that end, your moves must transition smoothly into each other in order to build momentum, evading and parrying your opponent's blows to maintain flow and keep your rhythm. Keeping your flow steady minimizes downtime and maximizes every breath you take as you whittle away at their defenses - this also allows you to dictate the tempo as you force your opponent to dance to your beat.
"Whether assaulting an enemy as a thunderstorm, or standing fast as the eye of the hurricane, you must find openings even in defended and countered attacks, and exploit them to continue your rhythm relentlessly. Truly skilled warriors can find chances to create such openings by their own initiative via feints or parries that leave opponents staggering.
"But as in motion, all things must come to a stop - should that come to pass, do not miss an opportunity to deliver a decisive power-strike or a powerful evocation spell, unleashing the all gathered momentum upon your foe to end the fight in one crescendo. This also applies defensively, when you parry an unexpected blow before punishing your opponent for their insolence, your riposte striking like a bolt of divine retribution either to strike them down or create breathing room and regain rhythm.
"Thus, in the dance of steel and spell, rhythm and flow is key: for just as the best defense is a focused and relentless offense, so too is the best offense a staunch and formidable defense. To master both is to understand the rhythm and flow, and thus what it means to be a dancer of the storm."
The second he engaged, Naruto cut down his first thug; without missing a beat, he ducked under a sword swing from another and eviscerated his attacker before cutting him down with an upswing and then hacking into the shoulder of one behind him. After kicking his opponent off his blade, and prepared red mana in his hand.
"Magic Missile!"
With a flick of his wrist, three darts of Red Mana struck three thugs in the chest, before bringing his blade down to cut into another target's leg before finishing him off with a thrust to the chest. It was seven down in a matter of seconds.
As he turned to find more targets, Naruto watched as an arrow nailed a thug in the head, before a follow-up shot took out another. A third had split into a torrent of arrows, shooting down another four before Hyōhime closed in and brought out her nata for up-close work, hacking, chopping, cleaving any that got within range.
A volley of ice needles came Naruto's way, mowing down three more before Haku appeared, with a long ice spike in hand, impaling her victims quickly and efficiently with its needle-sharp point. Any who thought that they had the drop on her found their way barred by a door-sized block of ice before being impaled by her rapier of ice.
The three of them went to work. Between Naruto's spell slinging, Hyōhime's bladework, and Haku's mastery over her ice, the Genin of Team Yamato danced circles around the Wagarashi thug army, cutting them down. By the time the three of them were done, most of the Wagashi thugs had broken and run, having lost more half their number. All that was left was a green-haired man with an umbrella, trying desperately to keep order and to maintain his thug army to no avail. All in all, it was much easier than during the Phyrexian Invasion, as in addition to their lack of mercy or remorse, the Phyrexians had no concept of morale
All that was left was the Shinobi with the umbrella flying the Amegakure crest on his hitting-ate, who was staring back at Team Yamato with murder in his eyes as they approached him.
"I'm assuming that you're Rokushō Aoi," Naruto noted, stretching his neck.
"And I'm assuming that the winged freak sent you here," Aoi spat, sneering back at him, "What, she so scared of me that she can't finish her own goddamn business?"
"Nah, she just figured you weren't worth her time," Naruto fired back, without rising to the bait, "Trust me when I say that if she'd seriously wanted you dead, she wouldn't have bothered toying with you and just impaled you on her spear. Instead, she decided to show you your place by slapping you across the face."
Aoi's sneer had turned ugly fairly quickly as he changed gears. "And what about you, you pathetic leaf-headed prick? You think you're hot shit? I'll bet you're nothing without those bitches backing you up!"
"And you're not worthy of the blade you wield," Naruto countered, tightening his hold on the war sword's grip, "I bet you that without the Nidaime Hokage's blade, you're just a hack of a Shinobi."
Aoi said nothing, his attempts to rile up Naruto were a failure. Without preamble, Aoi drew the handle at his side, allowing Naruto a good look at the blade as it ignited. It was clear that Aoi did not understand the weapon he had taken for his own, did not have any appreciable level of control over its power.
Naruto sighed in exasperation, twirling his war sword in one hand while channeling White mana in the offhand while charging ambient Green and Red mana into the war sword, setting it alight with green flames. He had a plan of attack, but he needed to be fast - he needed to be quick. "He's mine, ladies."
Aoi opened the fight with a charge, sending rings of energy towards Naruto, who used his gathered White mana to cast a shield cantrip and block the rings. He then proceeded to parry the blade of the Raijin no Ken away with the face of his blade before countering with a quick, one-handed cut diagonally across his opponent's chest. Aoi disappeared into a puff of smoke, and in his place was a log that had been sliced clean in half…shortly before Naruto brought the blade of his war sword back up, cutting into Aoi armpit as he was about to bring the blade down. Naruto continued his momentum to get behind Aoi and bring the blade down on his opponent's shoulder in one final power-stroke. Within seconds, Aoi limped to his knees, an arms falling off before collapsing to the ground dead, the energy blade of the legendary Raijin no Ken snuffed out as it rolled from his cold, dead fingers.
With the duel over, Naruto examined the deactivated blade he'd liberated from Aoi. The hilt of the blade resembled an object that Naruto knew as a vajra from his time in Kaladesh, its pommel reminiscent of a lotus bud, its guard resembling a blooming lotus flower that formed a claw. The grip was long enough for the swordsman to put two hands on it, but the balance was such that it was usable in one hand without being overly weighty - overall, it meant for better control in exchange for raw cleaving power.
Naruto had encountered such energy blades in his travels, having even made an experimental one using crystallized Halo from Capennan angels to create, focus, and power the blade using his mana. Overall, it proved effective at cutting down Phyrexians, and was tweaked throughout the war to enhance its cutting power and reliability. In his experience, such a weapon was often a reflection of the wielder's skill and power, both in bladework and in the ability to maintain the blade's shape. In Aoi's hands, the blade of the Raijin no Ken flickered, as if the his middling skills were laid bare by the sword itself, which was not helped by his lackluster swordsmanship—a legendary blade wasted in the hands of an inept master. Naruto wondered as to how the blade would have performed in the hands of its original owner - in the hands of Senju Tobirama himself.
As much as Naruto wanted to truly put this weapon to the test, it was very likely that he would not be allowed to. That is, unless he had express permission or had inherited it from the Nidaime Hokage himself…neither of which was likely. To his understanding, necromancy in any shape or form was frowned upon in this Plane - better play it safe and stick to summoning spirits not of this world. And to not cast the Speak With Dead spell he'd learned in Toril unless there was no other choice.
Naruto reached for the PTT on his throat mic and began. "Mission complete; we've got the sword."
"And Aoi?" Yamato asked.
"Dead. Eliana was right: his swordsmanship was total crap."
"Then report back. We make preparations to leave soon."
…
[Unknown Location]
Tenten awoke, feeling groggy as blue skies filled her vision.
What she saw as soon as she sat up and her vision cleared was unbelievable - three massive trees stood sentinel in the distance, watching over the strangest-looking city she'd ever laid eyes upon. And yet, despite the primitivism that was clear in the way that it was built, it was developed quite well given what she was able to tell just from being at the outskirts. Though for some reason, she was surrounded by grass that was taller than normal, as though she'd been shrunk down to size - even the rock she'd crashed into was larger than normal.
Upon feeling a headache throbbing in the back of her head, Tenten reflexively reached to massage it, and quickly recoiled upon seeing a giant rodent's paw in place of her hand. The second she brought the second hand into view, and saw another rodent paw in place of her own hand, she reflexively clenched her fingers before feeling her own head, and, in addition to finding her hitai-ate still on her head, and she felt fur and round, flat ears in place of her buns. A cursory look down revealed that her body had transformed - she still wore her white blouse and red hakama, but a rodent's body was wearing them. Her sandals were gone, and her rodent feet were bare, but she still carried her weapon storage scrolls on her back, but she found a long pink tail poking out from behind her outside her hakama.
In a panic, Tenten observed her surroundings and quickly found a reflective pool of water nearby. She scrambled towards the pool, and bent over - her eyes briefly widened to size of saucers, as instead of seeing her own face in the water, and found the reflection of a brown mouse looking back at her.
"Tenten-chan!" Lee's voice cried out.
"Where is everyone?!" Neji's voice added.
"Tenten!" Gai's voice shouted, "Lee! Neji! Where are you?!"
Tenten panicked, until she found her courage. As much as she wanted to hide behind the nearest rock, she needed to reunite with her team come hell or high water so that they could sort out this confusion. She ran towards the voices of her team, her mouse body facilitating a four-legged gait to move faster.
She was forced to come to a stop when she was almost stomped to death by a large, digitigrade foot wearing Lee's leg warmers.
"Tenten-chan!" called the owner of the foot, in Lee's voice.
"Down here!" Tenten called up.
The foot twitched in shock. A look up at the owner of the foot allowed Tenten to see a raccoon wearing Lee's jumpsuit and Konoha hitai-ate belt looked down at her, its face reminiscent of a tanuki down to having black bands around its eyes, except its features were pointier. It quickly reached for her and picked her up with a five-fingered hand wearing Lee's fighting bandages.
The raccoon looked at her with recognition. "Tenten-chan?" it asked in shock.
"I know, I'm a mouse."
"Where did everyone disappear to?!" shouted the voice of Gai, pushing through the grass.
The creature that spoke in Gai's voice was burly, its facial features more robust than the creature that Lee had turned into, its fur a lighter shade of grey, and it had a white stripe on its back in between two thinner black bands. It was a very rare creature that Tenten recognized as a badger…ironically a creature that she'd spotted fighting with raccoons for food. It also wore the green jumpsuit, leg warmers, and flak jacket of Maito Gai.
"Gai-sensei?"
"Lee?! What happened to you?!"
"Let's ask that later!" Tenten replied, enjoying the look of shock on Gai's face, "Right now, we need to find Neji!"
"There's no need to look."
Everyone looked down towards the source of the voice. Tenten had to bite back her laughter when she saw a white-eyed, lop-eared rabbit with grey fur wearing Neji's clothes, and with a rather displeased expression on its face. It would have elicited a girlish squeal at just how adorable her teammate looked, especially with that scowl he wore on his rabbit face.
After having her momentary laugh to herself, she took a deep breath and began to think more seriously. Many questions ran through Tenten's mind, but only one was at the fore:
Where are we?
…
A/N: And now we have more multiversal madness, after taking care of Aoi and getting the angel's cooperation.
And now the Cha no Kuni arc concludes…and a new one is very likely to begin. We'll see what happens in the next chapter.
Suffice to say, more travel will be happening across the Multiverse. But for now, we are laying foundations. Depending on how things go, I may have Ghirapur inviting the people of Shinobu to attend the Aetherdrift Multiversal race. Some things will remain canon, others will diverge. I could potentially even turn the Fourth Shinobi World War into the Multiverse's version of the Battle of Wakanda, if not the Battle of Earth, portals and all.
As to anyone in Naruto-verse bearing a title as grandiose as "God of Shinobi", I will say for certain that gods do in fact exist in the MtG multiverse, and they will not be impressed in the slightest. And if Pain or even the Ōtsutsuki Clan enter those realms where they exist, like in Theros, Ixalan, Amonkhet, or Kaldheim, they will find their claims of godhood challenged with extreme hatred and extreme prejudice in the face of REAL divine might. Long story short, I'm not convinced that even the Ōtsutsuki clan would have the juice to take on REAL gods and win, let alone the eldritch abomination that is Emrakul - in fact, I'm not even sure they're prepared for the level of body horror that Emrakul could happily inflict upon them.
But going forward in the next arc, I'd like to hear your ideas on what animal folk anyone else from Naruto-verse would turn into once they set foot in the Plane of Bloomburrow. Keep in mind, what you turn into upon entering Bloomburrow seems to depend more on the color, or color combination you identify as (I.e. contrary to popular belief, Naruto would not turn into a foxfolk even in canon, as he's not brainy enough - he's more likely to turn into a mousefolk or a as he leans more towards Naya or at least Boros in identity, none of which lean toward Blue). If you enter that Plane already an animal, you will remain that animal: Akamaru would remain a dog, just as the toads of Myoboku like Gamabunta will remain toads but will be shrunk down to a more natural size. The Bijū, however, will not become animals, they'll turn into Calamity Beasts, elemental embodiments of nature in the shape of beasts.
…
Vocabulary/Translations/Notes:
B's tattoo—the kanji character tattooed on Killer B's shoulder (鉄) reads as "tetsu", which means "iron".
Raijin no Ken—Senju Tobirama's chakra-powered lightsaber, literally means "Sword of the Thunder God"(雷神の剣).
…
Cards used:
Magic Missile (1)(Red)(Red)—Sorcery
This spell can't be countered.
Magic Missile deals 3 damage divided as you choose between one, two, or three targets.